Receiving negative criticism is one of the worst feelings in the world. It makes you doubt everything you have done and plants the seed of insecurity. Negative criticism can happen in multiple aspects of people’s lives, from personal relationships to work place settings. This past year, I’ve had my fair share of negative criticism. Many people would say that you should just ignore their feedback. You don’t think I haven’t wanted to pull a Drumpf by calling out my haters on social media and proclaiming how much better I am? Sure, you can do that, but you will be lowering yourself in the process. There are better ways to deal. Instead, channel criticism into your passion to help others.

Like Michelle Obama said, “When they go low, we go high.” Of course, going “high” is one of the most difficult things to do, especially when dealing with insecurity, anger and frustration. But there are several ways to redirect those feelings.

Here are 10 ways to channel criticism into constructive opportunity:

Send the criticizer a thank you note for giving you critical feedback.

Find the nuggets of wisdom in their feedback and apply it to your work.

Ask the criticizer if they would be willing to review your future work.

Use the feedback to better anticipate future criticisms.

Find other people to review your work who are “critical with a smile.”

Cut, copy and paste the worst parts of their criticism onto a “Wall of Shame” to motivate you to work harder.

Create a list of all of the awesome and selfless things you have done.

Call your most supportive friend and have them recount how awesome you are.

Write out your feelings into a blog post and get paid for it :)

Repeat to yourself in the mirror, “I is smart. I is beautiful. I is important.”